Why Instructions Kill Motivation 

If you’ve ever wondered why some Educators wait to be told what to do, even when the next step is obvious. The answer is often simpler than we think.

It’s not laziness.
It’s not a lack of care.
It’s conditioning.

Many educators have been taught, explicitly or implicitly, that their role is to follow instructions and wait. And when we teach people to wait, we shouldn’t be surprised when they don’t take initiative.

This becomes especially obvious in rooms where the Room Leader carries the cognitive load for the whole day.

A Real Room Example

Picture this.

It’s 9:32am.
The Preschool room is buzzing.
Morning tea has finished, and the Educators are wiping benches while children scatter to play.

The Room Leader looks around and sees what’s coming next:

• sunscreen
• hats
• water bottles
• toileting
  
• packs for the yard
  
• supervision zones
  
• first aid bag
  
• gate checks

   

All the invisible preparation that makes outdoor play look effortless.

The Room Leader is waiting for their team to act.

The team is waiting for instructions.

A tiny sigh slips out before the Room Leader says…

“Okay, everyone, I need you to pack hats, grab the sunscreen and get the kids ready.”

Everyone jumps into action, once they’re told.

From the outside it looks efficient.

Inside, it feels exhausting.

Instructions vs Motivation — What the Research Says

Motivation researchers call this the problem of control. When people work under instruction-heavy environments, motivation slowly collapses.

Self-Determination Theory (SDT), one of the most widely referenced models in motivation research, tells us that humans are most energised when three needs are met:

1. Autonomy – “I have some choice.”

2. Competence – “I know what I’m doing.”

3. Relatedness – “I feel connected and valued.”

Instruction-heavy cultures attack two of the three:

✔ Autonomy goes first.
When every task is told, checked and directed, educators learn that initiative isn’t required, or worse, isn’t welcome.

✔ Competence goes second.
“If I can’t make a decision without checking, I must not know enough.”

And here’s the clincher:

When autonomy and competence drop, motivation drops with it.

This is why some rooms feel like they’re constantly waiting for the Room Leader to decide the next step, not because educators can’t think, but because the environment has taught them not to.

The Instruction Trap

Early childhood Education is highly regulated, understandably, but somewhere along the way many services have unintentionally created cultures that reward compliance instead of contribution.

We often hear things like:

• “I’ll tell you what to do.”
• “Check with me if you’re unsure.”
• “Come and ask first.”
• “I’ll tell you when it’s time.”

   

Over months and years, this creates educators who:

✓ don’t anticipate
✓ don’t plan ahead
✓ don’t problem-solve
✓ don’t innovate
✓ don’t take responsibility

Initiative is a muscle, and like any muscle, if you don’t use it, you lose it.

So What’s the Alternative? Teach, Don’t Tell

If we want educators to step up, think ahead and share the cognitive load, we need to stop overusing instructions and start building competence.

And competence doesn’t grow from command.
It grows from training.

A stronger approach looks like this:

1. Train (Don’t Assume)

Don’t assume educators “should know” how a room runs. Show them:

• how to set up transitions
• how to plan supervision
  
• how to anticipate needs
  
• how to reset the room
  
• how to communicate with families
  
• how to read the timing of a day

   

This is where many services fall down, they explain the “what” of the job (wipe the tables) but not the “why” or “when” (do it while children are toileting so the next transition is smoother).

2. Build Competence (Don’t Micromanage)

Give educators structured opportunities to practice:

“You run the pre-outdoor transition today. I’ll be here if you get stuck.”

Competence grows fastest when people perform the task, not observe it.

3. Use Feedback (Not Correction Alone)

Feedback strengthens confidence and clarity.

Correction only tells them what not to do.
Feedback tells them what to do next time.

Even simple cues help:

“Great, you remembered the first aid bag. Next time add water bottles and we’re fully prepared.”

That is competence-building.

The Bottom Line

Educators don’t lack initiative.

They’ve had it trained out of them.

If we want motivated teams who think ahead and work with confidence, we need to stop creating environments that reward waiting and start building cultures that reward contribution.

Because motivation isn’t built through instructions.

Motivation is built through:

Autonomy + Competence + Feedback.

When those are in place, the whole room changes.